Speakers:Commercial real estate far from recovering

Speaking to the 100-plus real estate and banking professionals in attendance, O’Rourke said as long as unemployment continues to rise, the demand for commercial space will continue to fall.

The event was hosted by the Urban Land Institute of Richmond and held at the Jefferson Hotel.

O’Rourke said as a landlord, leasing activity has been extremely slow.

“It’s taking us six months to cut a deal, it was six days a year ago,” he said.

With the present economy, tenants are struggling to make rent, and O’Rourke said his company has been extremely proactive in negotiating terms and making extensions.